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The Queen's Colony of Albury
The Queen's Colony of Albury '''(more commonly known as the '''QCA or, simply, Albury) is a feudal monarchy occupying the northern-central region of Victoria, Australia. Founded in the 2130s by the surviving Governor-General of Victoria, the QCA's goals are nothing short than the re-establishment of Australia as a dominion of the British Empire. In 2287, the current Governor-General is Sir Pritchard Robertson. History The Queen's Colony of Albury formed in 2137 in the small town of Albury, however, its foundations extend back to the immediate Post-War town of Wangaratta. In late October 2077, the new Governor-General of Australia, Sir Albert Everfairee, was touring the rural areas of the country to familiarise himself with it. On October 23rd, the day of the Great War, he was in Wangaratta. While his bodyguard protected him from any direct harm, Everfairee witnessed much of rioting and looting that occurred Post-War, scaring him. The rise of the various mutants further scarred the young English nobleman. Everfairee's experiences with the rioting and destruction of Wangaratta influenced his further action to a high degree. From a man more familiar with Eton and Rugby than with combat (having been dodged command in the European Commonwealth-Middle Eastern War), seeing such brutality was entirely new to the young Governor-General. Coming from such a privileged and safe background, Everfairee's only conclusion from seeing such violence in Australia was that violence and anarchy were the natural instinct of Australians. Foundations (2077-2120) Everfairee and his retinue spent the next half-century hidden away in a small government bunker outside Wangaratta. Here, he had plenty of time to stew on what he had seen and plan out his next moves. With no news from Canberra or London, Everfairee had almost complete autonomy. His bodyguards, with no hope of ever seeing their friends or family again, were loyal solely to him. Everfairee was left with a powerful unit of disciplined and well-equipped soldiers and internal basis against the local population. After remaining in the bunker for nearly 25 years, Everfairee and his retinue made their debut in the wasteland in 2101. The hiding period had allowed Everfairee to develop his immediate future plans: first, to establish control over the most Anglican sounding territory in the local area (Everfairee had decided this was Albury, just across the Murray River) and then move outwards, taking control of the local populace. Everfairee's first contact with the local populace, about 35 km south of Albury along the Hume Highway, saw his retinue entirely destroy a caravan. On March 9th 2102, three months after leaving isolation, Everfairee and his retinue reached Albury. While the town had established a sheriff and town watch, the small post-war garrison was nothing compared to the disciplined and well-armoured might of the Pre-War soldiers. Everfairee quickly seized control of the town and established the basis of his new social order. An Ancient Society in the Far Future (2101-2119) Seeing as he was without direction from the United Kingdom, Everfairee established himself a feudal monarch, extending the title of Governor-General to be applicable until death. As the local populace was much to dirty and violent to be trusted, they were forced to remain on specific parcels of land, which Everfairee gave both to himself and to members of his retinue. Everfairee focused much of his attention in these early years on the successful running of his new society. With his classical knowledge, he soon set about establishing a faction based on the most successful kingdoms of antiquity. The Governor-General was to rule with a divine right, granted to them by the Queen. Landowners were to grant manpower, resources and tithes to the Governor-General in order to ensure they were protected from outside threats and the demands of the crown. The Queen's Colony of Albury, as Everfairee christened his new state, was a feudal kingdom, ruled according to the royal right of Governors-General. Expansion from Albury was slow. Everfairee had little-to-no experience running any form of society, let alone a feudal post-nuclear one. While there was no risk of rebellion from his vassals, the Governor-General was still learning on the role of civic leader on the fly. He established a rough code of laws, re-established Anglican churches and created the Queen's Army. With this new army, Everfairee soon set about expanding his dominion outwards, setting his eyes back on the growing post-war city of Warrangatta. The First Offensive (2118-2120) With a growing demand for more land and convicts within the QCA, Everfairee set his eyes on outwards expansion. Over time, the border Governors and Generals had slowly expanded their lands outwards, seizing wastelanders and slowly spreading boundary markers outwards. However, this expansion was not only slow but benefitted solely those elites in specific areas. With new generations not far away, new land must be taken into the nation. In 2118, Everfairee, now in his late 60s, mobilised his army. With him, he brought his own personal retinue from before the war and eighty-eight young men. The Queen's Army, as it was titled, numbered 109 men total. However, they were a very mixed force; there was no standard equipment, training or organisation. While the retinue used Pre-War Rockwell arms and followed the Pre-War military structure, the other soldiers were mixed under different commanders in rough warbands. The army that gathered in Albury in March 2120 was a mixed force of Pre-War military soldiers, convict warbands and early industrial infantrymen. In combat, the force was surprisingly successful. Just outside Albury, the Queen's Army engaged with a band of raiders. The raiders, used to unarmed peasant farmers and the occasional small caravan, melted underneath the might of the soldiers. Continuing south back along the Hume, Everfairee's army occasionally skirmished with raider groups before reaching the outskirts of Warrangatta in May 2120. Since the War, Warrangatta had re-established order and became a somewhat powerful locale. The settlement was fortified with a wooden palisade, with metal reinforcements in crucial areas. A well-organised militia guarded the area and was equipped with fine Pre-War arms. While Warrangatta was in no ways a sprawling settlement, it was an imposing sight to Everfairee and his men. These problems were made worse when, on May 9th 2120, Albert Everfairee, first Governor-General of the Queen's Colony of Albury, died of a heart attack. Johnathan's Rule (2120- Following his father's death, Johnathan Everfairee, the product of Albert and an Albury woman, took over as Governor-General of the QCA. Johnathan was present at his father's death, commanding his own unit of the Queen's Army. With his father's death, Johnathan immediately took control of the army and set about taking control of Wangaratta. While Albert was set to approach Wangaratta with a siege, believing it's defences to be too strong, Johnathan was significantly less conservative. After taking control of the Army, Johnathan launched a series of assaults on the settlement. He used makeshift explosives and head on attacks by warbands to overwhelm and breach the defences. After nearly a month of fighting and over thirty casualties, Wangaratta finally fell. The Sack of Wangaratta With Wangaratta finally in possession of the QCA, Johnathan allowed the officers under his command (the convict fighters were, of course, not allowed to participate) to take what they pleased from the settlement. The Sack of Wangaratta saw almost all of the population enslaved or killed and all its material wealth seized. Weapons, slaves, jewellery, alcohol and even furniture were seized by the officers and taken back to their territories. It was only after three days of anarchy that Johnathan took up the reigns of leadership again. Wangaratta was incorporated into the QCA in a number of different feudal territories. The previous inhabitants had developed a number of small manufactories and developed a trading connection with Smokesville for coal. As such, while the newly gained land was being divided, the town was halved--one portion going into Johnathan's control and the other going into the commander of the final assault, Randolph Robertson. The Industrialisation Process (2122-2145) After Johnathan's return to Albury, he proved to be a more successful and creative civil administrator than a military commander. Under his leadership, he devised the split between Governors '''and '''Generals, dividing the territory into border territories and internal territories. Johnathan introduced farming rotation and negotiated between the Generals along the Murray River to allow water to flow south into Albury and local farms. In March 2125, a caravan from Smokesville entered Wangaratta, hoping to re-establish trading connections now that the area was no longer a war zone. The caravan entered via the south, entering into the territory of General Randolph Robertson. Robertson opened negotiations with the caravan, gathering information on their goods and the wider state of Post-War Victoria. Roberston, through the caravan leading, began to hear about the growing industrial power of Williamstown and their trade relationship with Smokesville. Hearing of the news from the south, Robertson, through his son, Governor Charles Robertson, established a trade relationship with Smokesville for raw materials and set about re-opening the small industrial sector present in Warrangatta. Within only a short number of years, the Robertson territories were producing the farming equipment necessary for all the agricultural Governors and Generals present in the QCA, bringing in large tribute to the Robertsons. By 2237, the wealth of the Robertson's even began to rival that of Governor-General Johnathan. Expansionary Offensives (2138-2147) With wealth and industrial capacity growing rapidly in the QCA, so did population. Throughout the 2120s and 30s, population had exploded amongst both the ruling classes and the convicts due to a growth in the number of jobs and the expansion of agriculture. As the territories of Warrangatta and Albury expanded and the Governors grew richer, the Generals attempted to keep pace by expanding their territories outwards, integrating more and more wasteland into their domain. With the Murray River blocking any northern expansion, some interesting territories developed--Arnold L'Royale, owner of the farmland separating Albury from the Murray, had two large 'clumps' of territory linked by a strip barely one metre wide in place. Due to these expansions, Governor-General Johnathan now ruled over land stretching from the Pre-War town of Beechworth (now little more than farmer's barracks under a General) in the south to Rutherglen in the north. The roughly square-shaped territory had a population of 1500 Governors, Generals and their family and roughly 7000 convicts. This population boom soon began to detriment the QCA both through the Freemen and through the Convicts. The number of convicts was growing which, while increasing the output of Albury, saw the way convicts were treated decline, with greater and greater amounts of abuse present. For the Freemen ruling the nation, the growth in their population led to greater and greater demand for land and glory, as without it there was no way to advance. Johnathan, confronted with the struggles, began to plan his new offensive. The mountains and bushland of the Mount Buffalo National Park, while they posed no risk, also posed little reward--after all, it is very difficult to farm land which is infertile and without a workforce. Instead, Johnathan turned his eyes south and east. To the south, was more mountains and powerful tribals. While this was somewhat appealing, the tribals had skirmished with the Queen's Army and border Generals occasionally, with the Queen's Army always suffering greatly. The most appealing option was to turn east, towards Shepparton-Morroopna and Yarrawonga. These two settlements had been useful trading partners during the industrialisation process. Yarrawonga had a strong trade relationship with the Generals north of Albury and with the town itself, trading along the Murray River. Shepparton-Morroopna was an even stronger settlement, with a population of nearly 2000 and was the centre of a trading and defensive bloc of local settlements. Fighting either of them would be a difficult choice, but with the clamouring of the Generals and Governors, expansion was the only choice. The Yarrawonga Campaign (2138-2140) Johnathan decided Yarrawonga proved to be the more suitable target. Mustering together his forces in Albury, the campaign against the settlement actually began in December of 2238, when a Yarrawonga ferry was seized in Albury. The caravaneers were entered into the Convict system and the ship was seized of all its valuables. Skirmishes along the border broke out immediately. While Albury stilled relied on Convict runners to relay messages, Yarrawonga had developed a radio network with its caravans, allowing messages to be passed faster. By the time the Royal Army had prepared itself fully for war and began to move towards the settlement, the Yarrawonga militia had already called upon its allies and prepared defences along the Murray River Valley, defending the road and the river from the high lands. On March 11, 2239, the Royal Army attempted to bypass the area by simply marching past them. However, concentrated fire from the quality defensive positions and skilful knowledge of the terrain allowed the Yarrawonga commander, Sherif Mike Hunt, to beat back the army. While Governor-General Johnathan was reorganising his troops to attempt another assault against Hunt's fortified positions, General David Robertson enacted a more successful flanking plan. Taking his band of thirty-eight professional Royal Army soldiers, David moved his forces off-road. By sweeping up the hill and diagonally across the defences, David's forces managed to rout the Hunt's, securing the Murray River Valley. Following this point, the Royal Army swept along behind the retreating Yarrawonga militia, harassing them until reaching Yarrawonga itself. While the defences of the settlement were formidable, Hunt's attempt to protect the city in the field had left it unguarded and undermanned. The Royal Army, high on its success in the Murray River Valley, quickly swept through the rough walls around Yarrawonga and incorporated the settlement into the Queen's Colony of Albury. The Shepard's League War (2141-2144) After securing Yarrawonga and dividing its territory between the victories Generals and the new generation of Governors, Governor-General Johnathan quickly turned his attention south the Shepard's League. Shepparton and Mooroppna had become a valuable trade power in the north, one of the few contenders to Williamstown's rise south of Hoddle Grid. To defend against the growing threat posed by the tribes to the south, the settlement had united with nearby towns to create a strong defensive league, the Shepard's League. The balance of power between the QCA and the Shepard's League was on paper in favour of the Shepard's League. The League was industrialised and rich, with a total armed force of 200 professional soldiers and nearly 150 supporting militia. These soldiers were well-trained and equipped, capable of defending against bandits and raiders and the raiding tribes to the south. Many of the soldiers were veterans of many years, with experienced gathered from plying the caravan trade down south. In comparison, the Royal Army was significantly less experienced or well-equipped. While some forces of the army were well-equipped and trained--principally those soldiers under the command of General Robertson--the bulk of the soldiers were conscripted Convicts equipped with little better than hunting rifles, varmint rifles or scratch-built black-powder rifles. However, the Royal Army had more creative and effective leadership, greater flexibility and more willingness to sacrifice lives. Layout Albury is may be small in population, but it covers a large area of territory. The borders of the QCA in the run along the Murray River in the north, extending from the capital at Albury in the East to Cobram in the west. It extends south to Shepparton-Mooroopna, making a triangle of territory. Albury primarily consists of rural bushland, interspersed with farming and cottage industry communities. The bulk of the population occupy the three large settlements of Albury, Shepparton-Mooroopna and Cobram. Organisation Albury operates under a feudal monarchy, with the vast majority of the population subject to the whims of less the other 10%. Governor-Generals (the title of the monarch) rule for life and have remained in the Robertson family since the 2190s. Governor-Generals rule with the aid of a small, trusted council of advisers, though this position is granted based on ties with the monarch, not merit. Governor-Generals rule in an autocratic manner and must sign off on every decision. The remaining government of Albury is divided into two: the Governors and the Generals. Governors are civil administrators and own large portions of land from which they derive their income. They deal with taxation, lawmaking and civil development. Generals are the military officers and derive their income from their two main roles: military conquest and subjugation and judiciary roles. This works as such: Governors make laws and Generals enforce laws. Economy Albury is a feudalistic '''industrial '''economy. A small elite controls much of the country, ruling over vast tracts of land and large numbers of convicts. The Deputy Governors can do with the land as they like, developing how they please, with a convenient workforce that can be sold or traded away but cannot act out of their own free will. As such, while industrial activity is the largest source of trade, the societal changes that often come with it did not influence the nation. Albury trades closely with Smokesville for much of its coal and mineral resources and with Williamstown for goods, it cannot produce on its own. The bulk of its income is derived from taxation, especially from the small settlements across the Murray River. Relations Bushrangers Gobble-de-Gook Smokesville Victorian Railways Williamstown Technology Albury's strong position in Northern Victoria and Southern New South Wales is due primarily to its technology. With tribals occupying much of the south and the Bushrangers too far north, their position as the primary industrialised nation in the area is secure. As such, the factories and civil technologies present in the QCA--while nothing compared to that of Williamstown or even Flounders Island--put them ahead of almost all of their neighbours. In regards to military technology, Albury is less advanced than some of its neighbours but benefits from its industrial capacity to remain above its enemies. The Queen's Army uses simple, rugged Royal Rifles, Rockwell .32 SMGs and some Light Machine Guns as its primary arms, with pride of place going to the three suits of American Power Army in use by Royal Army elites. Category:Groups Category:Victoria Category:Places Category:Communities